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A good value sander from a well known company.

Review of the Black and Decker KA300 Sander/Grinder

I purchased this Sander around 2 years ago for my other half. At that time we were re-fitting our narrow boat and converting a panel van into a motorhome. Both jobs involved affair amount of woodwork and sanding down large surfaces prior to varnishing. These jobs were taking a huge amount of time and effort, so this sander seemed to be a sensible investment. We have put the sander to great use and have both used it. We are currently converting another (larger) van into a motorhome, so once more the Black and Decker sander is coming into its own!

**The Sander**

The Black & Decker KA300 sander is designed for use on vertical surfaces making it ideal for areas such as doors and walls. The sanding plate of the KA300 is oblong in shape as opposed to the triangular version the company also produce. As mentioned above, mine has mainly been used for sanding down sheets of marine ply before varnishing, this is a tedious task usually but the Black and Decker made short work of it. We recently re-decorated our spare bedroom and used the sander to remove several layers of paint from the wide wooden shelf that runs round the bay window ledge. It worked a treat and I was really pleased with the results.Although I have used this sanding mainly for sanding wood, it can be used on plaster, plasterboard and similar surfaces.

The weight of this sander is around 1.5kg which is quite a bit lighter than some of the models we looked at before opting to buy this model, but even so, your arms do ache somewhat after a relatively short period of use. Personally I think this is due mainly to the vibrating action of the tool rather than the actual weight.

The sander is fitted with a very sensible length 2 metre cord and features grip handles at both ends making it easy to hold and use. The sander also features a dust extraction facility, however in practice I have found this less than efficient and tend to simply wear a mask when sanding anything. Operation of this sander is simple, it has a basic on/off switch and as it operates at only one speed, there is no need to worry about changing speeds. You simple hold the sander against the area to be sanded and move it in a gentle up and down action going with the grain of the wood where ever possible. The sander has an orbital action meaning that it vibrates in small circles, or "orbits." I have used other power tools in the past where I have almost felt that the tool was going to 'run away' with me, but not so with this, it is easy and simple to use. Another plus for me is that that is not deafeningly noisy the way some power tools are.

The sander uses sheets of sandpaper which need to be positioned across the platten (base) of the sander. These are held in place by means of two spring loaded metal clips. To be honest, I cannot replace these myself and have to get my other half to do this for me. I don't know why I can't do it, but I just can't and I end up with the sandpaper askew or worse still creased.

The size of the sandpaper is known as 1/3 sheets and they measure approximately 92mm x 230mm. The papers are slightly larger than the platten making it easier to overlap and secure the paper. The papers come in various grades of density and you choose which ever is suitable for the job in hand. As a general rule of thumb, the finer the finish required, the lighter the sandpaper sheet. My Black and Decker sander came with a starter pack of sanding sheets, I believe there were a total of 10 sheets, in three different grades. .**Specifications**

I purchased this Black and Decker sander from B&Q and paid around £25 for it. In my opinion, this was money well spent and the tool is still in good working order after several years of use. The sanding papers are widely available and although Black and Decker do recommend using only their own brand of papers, these can be a little pricey from DIY stores. I have bought these online for considerably less than the RRP and I have on occasion bought a cheaper version from a rival company with no ill effects. The tool is described as a Sander/Grinder, however as we have not had cause to use it for grinding purposes I cannot really pass judgement on its efficiency when used in this way.

I consider this to be a useful addition to your power tools if you do a lot of light weight sanding and would recommend it to others.

I am awarding the Black and Decker KA300 sander a 4* rating, dropping a * due to my difficulty in replacing the sand paper sheet.

Comments

Product Details

"Great for applications such as surface finishing of flat areas like doors and tables or the removal of surface coatings the Black & Decker KA300 1/3 Sheet Finishing Sander features front and rear handles for maximum comfort and control. The sanding base can sand ""flush"" to 90° edges on three sides useful on vertical surfaces such as doors and walls. Simple clip attachments hold the sandpaper and at he same time make for easy fitting or removal of the sandpaper."